Entrepreneurial Marketing and Blogging Angst – Part II

Thanks to Austin for engaging me in the debate over blogging.

At his prompting, I’ve hopped over the fence and am now sharing the 3 reasons why blogging is a must for entrepreneurial marketing:

1 – Opens a dialog with customers and potential customers.

You can forego customer surveys and focus groups and tap into the power of a blog. Just be careful! This can go really well (impress your customers with quick and thoughtful information and responses) or really badly (open the dialog and then abandon it, thereby disappointing your customers while giving them a microphone to broadcast your shortcomings).

2 – Makes you credible as a leader of your company and in your sector.

Blogging must be about something bigger than you, your experiences and the products you sell. If you can get past doing infomercials and get to thoughtful musings on market and industry trends and meaning, you’ll generate a loyal following. As you gain followers, this will serve you well as people will notice the strength of your network and community presence.

3 – Lays the foundation on which your company builds its reputation.

Your company blog can directly communicate your company brand through its content and tone. Before you post a blog, think through the likely customer response to your posting. Hopefully instead of responding “so what?”, customers will think “that is interesting, and because I read that I will be able to do x,y,z faster/better/cheaper!” Now that’s a great foundation on which to grow your company!

Bottom Line:

Blogging is a powerful weapon for anyone doing entrepreneurial marketing. Just remember it is OK to admit it if it’s not your calling, then find someone you trust to take it on.